


Starry Sky Memories

by sennenmeguriuta



Category: TsukiPro the Animation
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-10
Updated: 2018-11-10
Packaged: 2019-08-21 12:20:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,246
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16576373
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sennenmeguriuta/pseuds/sennenmeguriuta
Summary: On a rainy night, Issei finds himself feeling more lonely than he thought he could feel. He finds strength through his past.





	Starry Sky Memories

_ It’s raining.  _ Issei looked up at the gloomy evening sky as clouds began to cover the dark blue expanse that reached as far as he could see.  _ Just like that day. _

With a sigh, he closed the blinds. He was in a completely different place from where he remembered so vividly. All he could remember from that day was a feverish heat on his body and Ichiru yelling for him to not die. Now, though, he was an idol, part of QUELL alongside his brother. Worlds apart from that past.

He checked his phone. It was getting close to midnight. He wasn’t one to be so greedy, but the atmosphere in his room prompted him to ask Ichiru in the next room over to talk with him for a while. It was late, and Ichiru was probably asleep already, so he decided against it.

Issei picked up his Lizz from beside his bed. It was childish of him, but he wanted something to hug tonight for some reason. He clung to it as he covered himself with the bedsheets, and he sank into a dreamless sleep.

 

_ Where is this?  _ The sky was a bright blend of gray and blue, a familiar scene from his childhood. Issei looked around in confusion. Everything looked so similar to his past.  _ Is this a dream…?  _ The telephone wires, the roads, the gates, the houses, and even the household pets lounging on the sidewalks looked familiar. It was as if he’d been transported to a complete replica of where he and Ichiru had grown up.

Issei looked down at his clothes. They weren’t pajamas, but rather his casual clothes, so this meant he was in a very lucid dream. For some reason, he ended up dreaming about his past. Did the memory of that rain-soaked day stir up his consciousness?

He heard noises behind him. Children were cheering, yelling, and bringing him back to his own childhood. He turned around, and he couldn’t stifle the gasp of shock that burst through his mouth. It was the orphanage where he and Ichiru were raised. Was it? It was just a dream, after all. It seemed as if his mind created that place in vivid accuracy.

A child yelped, and Issei felt something hit his leg. He quickly looked down to apologize to the child, and he felt a chill.

“Ow,” muttered the boy. His dark hair, brushed slightly to his left, was tousled and in a complete mess. He looked up. “Who’re you?”

Issei couldn’t speak. The boy’s blue eyes, piercing and wide, were reflected in his own. “I’m- um, I…”  _ This is just a dream. It’s just a dream. _

“Hey, tell me!” The boy, who looked only about four or five years old, was already demanding. He tugged Issei’s coat, looking up at him with pleading eyes. “Should I introduce myself first? That’s what Issei tells me when I see people I don’t know.”

Time froze. Or it seemed to, when Issei heard his own name uttered by this boy. He finally managed to say a, “N-no, it’s fine. You don’t need to introduce yourself.”

“Really? Okay, then. Who’re you?” The boy repeated his first question.

“I’m… Issei.”

“That’s my brother’s name!” The tug on Issei’s coat grew slack, and the boy pointed straight at Issei’s face. “You have my brother’s name.”

Issei crouched to get eye-level with the boy, ignoring the chill that came from looking at familiar eyes in such a different place. Since it was a dream, all he had to do was lengthen this conversation until he woke up. “Is that so? How about you tell me about him?”

“Issei’s… um… he’s really cool! He thinks things through a lot, and, um… he’s really quiet.” The child’s eyes widened in joy as he began to talk about his brother. “You know, he’s smart too!” The boy continued talking, listing things he liked about his brother in rapid succession. It was quite a long list. He put his hands on Issei’s knees. “Hey, why’re you here?”

“Me? I’m not really sure,” responded Issei. It was the truth, after all. He looked around the area, still reeling from how realistic it felt. “But I think I’ll go back now.”  _ I don’t know how to get back, though. Where do I go?  _ He began to get up.

“D-don’t go!” The boy’s tone turned pleading, and he tightened his small grip on Issei. “Issei’s asleep right now, and you’re just like him! Can you stay… for just a little longer? I-I’m not lonely or anything, but…”

_ He was like this before, wasn’t he? Honest but not. You haven’t changed a bit in that sense.  _ “All right. I understand. What do you want to talk about?” Issei crouched back down, looking into the boy’s dark blue eyes. He smiled. “Do you want to talk about your brother some more? I can tell it makes you happy.”

The boy hesitated, and he shook his head. “I wanna hear about you. What do you like?”

Issei felt himself smile, and he chuckled a bit. “Well, I guess I like my brother. My friends. The people who take care of me. The people I work with. And I like the people who listen to my songs.”

“Songs?”

_ Oops. It’s a dream, right? It’s not like anything will change.  _ Issei ruffled the boy’s hair. “Are you interested in singing? I think you’d make a wonderful singer.”

The boy thought for a while, placing a finger to his chin. “I don’t know. I just want Issei to be happy.” He grinned. “And because you’re like Issei, I want you to be happy too!”

_ Oh no. This dream’s more real than I thought.  _ Issei felt his eyes blink rapidly. He didn’t mean for it to happen, but for some reason, he couldn’t help but feel tears spring to his eyes. He rubbed his eyes quickly with his sleeve. “I-is that so? Thank you.”

“Hey, big bro Issei! Can you sing for me? I bet your songs are amazing!” The boy’s eyes sparkled.

Issei was taken aback by the sudden request. “Why?”

The boy paused. It seemed he didn’t really know himself why he wanted to hear Issei sing. After a moment of apparent deep thought, he declared,“I guess… it’s because you’re cool! Cool guys can sing well, right? Idols are cool!”

The answer was so simple. But why did it touch Issei’s heart so profoundly? He could feel tears coming to his eyes again. He blinked, then stood up. “Okay.”  _ It’s only in a dream that I can do something like this. If only this were real. _

He recalled the moments in his life where he was weak.

“A tired face, baskets are lined up: a sleepy time. I return to that lonely place that calls to me.”

Shivering, cold, stranded in a street. Despite that, someone was still there to take care of him. Someone who was always there by his side. That someone was an irreplaceable existence. He couldn’t have become who he was without that person.

“If there’s a god that abandoned me, is there one who can pick me up? No matter how much of a useless person I am.”

Then he met someone who had changed his life forever. Kind and aloof, seemingly perfect, just like the pale moonlight. That person was someone who seemed calm and in control of everything, but even he had his own past to dwell upon. Nevertheless, he was their savior.

“The flickering lights, gathering at the sea, illuminate the filthy darkness. The dream you whispered in pain still surely breathes inside me.”

He was introduced to someone overflowing with energy, brilliance, and affection. That person wasn’t perfect either, but he always worked his hardest. He treated everyone equally and with a smile on his face. Their lives were colored like a rainbow because of him.

“I look at the starry sky, praying an eternal dream.”

The things that happened to him ever since that fateful moment could never be replaced. Every single slip and stumble built him up from the person he was of so long ago. Everything was important. Whether a moment was happy, or sad, he was alive now to experience it. Some day, he could look back on his past: but for now, he was living in his present. He had to make the most of it.

Issei took a deep breath, and he met eyes with the young boy. “That was a song that I like to think about when I look up at the night sky. Sometimes I take pictures of it.”

“You’re such a great singer,” marveled the boy. “I’m gonna tell Issei when he wakes up!” The boy’s eyes widened, the shining dark blue giving an illusion of an endless ocean, and he pointed at something in Issei’s coat pocket. “That thing’s going to fall out, you know.”

Issei followed the finger’s path with his eyes, and he blinked in surprise.  _ Lizz?  _ His small squirrel doll was actually hanging precariously from his coat pocket.  _ Can these things really take us places in our dreams?  _ He gently took it out of his pocket, and white noise buzzed in his ears.

“Ichiru! Come back in!” Another child’s voice floated over. “What do you want to do today?”

The boy looked behind him, back inside the orphanage, then to Issei. “Sorry! My brother’s calling for me. Thanks for the pretty song. You should sing it in front of other people some day.”

Issei felt his eyelids grow heavy as his right hand gripped the Lizz.  _ Am I waking up?  _ “Got it.” He smiled, and with his other hand, he patted the boy’s head. “Thanks, Ichiru.”

 

Issei woke up to a voice calling his name. He was still drowsy, as he always was in the morning, and he clutched at his blanket in a half-awake daze. “Mm…”

“Isse!” Eichi’s cheery voice broke into his thoughts. “Good morning!”

“Eichi… Good morning,” mumbled Issei. He tried to blink open his eyes, but he felt himself drifting back to sleep. He tried to get himself up, but it didn’t seem possible as he got sleepier with every passing second.

Eichi stepped over to his bed and began to slowly pull the blanket off him. “Isse, you’re gripping that Lizz pretty carefully. Did you want to hold it during the nighttime or something?”

“Hm…”

“Let’s open up the curtains!” Eichi flung open the curtains with the strength that only he had, and a bright sky greeted them. “It’s brightened up a bit, hasn’t it? The sun’s still shining even though it’s raining!”

“Hrm…” Issei mumbled again, and he rolled over to look at the sky. It was glowing with warmth, yet still cool as it illuminated the room from its darkness. It was a great change from the dreary night of the previous day. Despite his sleepy eyes, he could appreciate the light that shone in. “It’s pretty…”

Eichi turned back, beaming. “It is, isn’t it?”

Issei smiled, feeling his body wake up along with his mind. “Yeah. I’m glad.”

 

“You’re up a bit earlier today, Issei.” Shu was sitting at their dining table, mug in his hand as he smiled. “Sleep well?”

“Mmhmm. You’re not off to work early today?”

“I finished some work beforehand yesterday, so I got some time off today.” Shu tilted his head over at the kitchen area. “Ichiru wanted to talk to you when you woke up.”

Issei looked at his brother, who was busy making loud noises in the kitchen. “Ichiru?”

“Ah! Issei! Wait a second, I’m making tea right now!” Ichiru’s hair was sticking up in odd places, but he was energetic as always. “Sit down!”

Eichi laughed. “Looks like he’s taking over your tea duties today. He seemed really gung-ho about it. You’re not upset, are you?”

“Of course not.” Just as his brother instructed, Issei took a seat across from Shu and breathed in the crisp morning air. The window was slightly ajar, and a gentle breeze fluttered a potted plant sitting on the windowsill.

“Here! Eichi’s fixing up some breakfast right now, so let’s wait to eat until he finishes.” A mug slid onto the table in front of Issei, and he looked up into his brother’s eyes.

Issei gestured at his head. “Your hair’s sticking up.”

“Huh? Really?” Ichiru dropped himself into the seat next to Issei and tried to pat down his hair, to no avail. “Eh, whatever. Anyways, I have something to tell you about!”

_ Was the dream a prediction about this conversation?  _ Issei wondered. “What is it?”

“When I woke up, I remembered that, when we were kids, there was this really interesting guy who came to visit. But he went away right after. I can’t remember so well, but his singing’s still in my mind.” Ichiru averted his gaze, oddly interested in a corner of the room. “He… reminded me of you.”

Issei blinked. “When did that happen?”

“I-I don’t remember well! But… I just wanted to tell you about it.” Ichiru’s roaming eyes caught Issei’s pocket. “Hey, your Lizz is gonna fall out, you know.”

“It was real.” Issei smiled.

“Huh? What was?”

Issei plucked the Lizz out of his pocket and placed it gently on the table. Issei met his brother’s eyes and turned to gaze at the black eyes on the doll, which seemed to wink. Without looking, Issei reached up to pat Ichiru’s head. “Well, who knows.”

**Author's Note:**

> I came up with this like two years ago and I don't remember what compelled me to write it except maybe some soft QUELL stuff. Anyway I hope you enjoyed!


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